"I
know," Sirius said with a big grin, "I would no more try and
force that out of you than I would Dual with Molly Weasley."

Xander
barked a laugh. "I had a meeting with the goblins about patenting
some new designs of armour and weaponry."

Sirius
blinked. "Wow, that's deep."

"Yes."
Xander nodded. "One of the things that occurred to me was the lack
of armour in the Aurors quarters; they go into a battle virtually
unprotected. Sure, a battle suit wouldn't stop an Unforgivable, but
it would slow it down and might even buy the wearer some time; it
would also protect against guns and knives."

"Guns? Wizards don't use them."

"Most
wizards don't, but I wouldn't put it past a few, figuring out
that bullets kill just as easily as a spell."

Xander
shrugged his shoulders; he didn't owe the woman anything, after
all.

"She
was also upset with Arthur for not telling her," Sirius went on,
"but she couldn't argue the fact that he was right and she was
wrong. I think that was upset her more; she's so used to getting
her way."

Xander
cringed. "I can imagine. I, personally, don't trust her and don't
want my goings-on being reported back to Dumbledore."

"Why
not?"

"The
man kept me locked up with the Dursleys for eleven years."

Now
it was Sirius's turn to cringe.

"Sirius,
could I ask you a favour?"

"Sure,
what is it?"

… … … … … … … … … …
… … …

Serverus very rarely received mail in
the deep, dark dungeon that he called home. He did not receive news
because of his current location and his lack of friends, most of whom
were now either dead or had disassociated themselves with him. The
only one who only bothered to even say 'hello' was dear Lucius.

That
was why it came as a surprise when Filch banged loudly on his door;
the caretaker limped in and grumbled that Serverus had received a
letter.

Serverus
looked at the letter and instantly recognised Potter's handwriting;
he almost tore up the letter immediately, but curiosity got the
better of him. He pulled out the dagger that he kept hidden in the
desk and gently broke the seal. Inside the parchment was a piece of
picture that fell on the desk and a letter with a yellow Post-It note
attached.

Snape
took of the note and raised both his eyebrows, it read:

"Thank
you."

He
turned the letter over and began reading it. When he was finished,
his hands were shaking and his face had gone pale. He looked down at
the picture and his lips, for the first time in a decade, curled
upwards into a smile, albeit a sad, little smile.

… … … … … … … … … …
… … …

"Well,
I must say the house is certainly coming along."

Albus
Dumbledore popped in for a visit by Floo. The first thing Albus
noticed on arrival was the cleanliness of the place; there wasn't
any dust to be seen and it seemed now that those awful blinds were
gone, it was much brighter inside.

The
house-elf, Kreacher, appeared with a 'pop', and bowed its head. "Mr Potter and Mr Black are waiting in the kitchen."

"Thank
you Kreacher," the elf nodded and showed the headmaster the way. "Sirs, Headmaster Dumbledore."

"Thank
you, Kreacher," Xander said with a smile. Sirius merely nodded. The elf disappeared and Albus pulled a seat up to the table.

"The
House is certainly looking better."

"The
three of us came to an agreement." Xander looked at Sirius who
looked away somewhat darkly. "I trust that Professor Snape
received my letter?"

Albus
smiled. "Yes, I daresay he did; that was most kind of you, Harry."

"I
know."

"How
did you know about Professor Snape's feelings for your mother?"

"He
never insulted her," Xander replied simply. The headmaster cocked
his head questioningly. "Not once, during his rants and raving
about me, fame, or my father, did even so much as mention her. I
figured he had a crush on her."

"Indeed
he did, although Serverus would never openly admit that."

"Of
course not; he can barely look at me."

"Partly
because you remind him of her."

Xander
didn't know what to say.

"I
trust that now without the distraction of Vernon," Dumbledore said
gently, "your homework will improve?"

"Yeah,
I've already finished it."

"Ah."
The older man's eyes twinkled. Albus had brief look around the
house, commented on certain areas, patted Sirius on the back and then
left.

Kreacher
reappeared with two newspapers, bowed and placed them on the table.

"Kreacher,
I'm hungry; would you be able to whip anything up?" asked Xander.

"Of
course, Master Potter." The elf popped out of the room instantly.

Xander
looked at the paper, flipping through it and soaking up the
information; he could easily access the memories later on to get more
detailed view of it. Sirius watched the scene quietly. Kreacher
appeared again shortly after with two bowls of French Soup. Xander
smiled, thanked him, took them, and dipped the bread that had
appeared a moment later.

"Apparently,
the Ministry's gone public and has declared you innocent and
offered a public apology." Sirius looked at him as if he were
cracking a joke. Xander chucked him the paper, which the older man
grabbed and read.

"I
won't be accepting it."

"I
don't expect you to; in fact, I have an interview with Miss Skeeter
lined up." Sirius looked up. "I'll be giving my full view of
things there."

"Ouch."

"Oh,
yeah," Xander said with a nasty little grin. "The Ministry won't
know what hit it; consider this a pre-emptive strike."

… … … … … … … … … …
… … …

They
rested that day and gradually adjusted to each other's company. For
Sirius, it was strange being out of his coffin and back in an older
one, one where he'd been forced to do things and think things he
didn't want to; one where he'd been the only one to think that
Voldemort wasn't all that. Now he was back home, but it was
different.

For
a start, Kreacher was actually being something that bordered on nice;
the old house-elf was cooking food for them and doing the chores that
needed doing, as was the other Harry Potter fan, Dobby. Sirius would
smile when he thought that, to Dobby, Harry was a knight in shining
armour. And then there was the boy himself, the child who had had to
grow up under similar circumstances.

From
what he could see, Harry did not hold a grudge against the Dursleys;
he accepted who and what they were. Harry, himself, was unusual, far
older than a child his age should be, wiser beyond his years and yet
there was still a bit of innocence there that smiled at the prospect
of creating a bit of chaos.

Harry
reminded Sirius of a young James Potter.

For
Xander, it was a nice change to simply be in a house where he didn't
get filthy looks. It was nice being in a house where he could get
what he wanted without having to resort to influencing people with
his Shadow powers. It was also nice not to have to cloak himself all
the time.

The
next morning they went shopping, not just for Xander's school
supplies, but also for some new clothes for Sirius. The man had been
living in rags for the better part of a decade.

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